Habiba Gitay

Ethiopian soil scientist pioneering climate-resilient agriculture in Africa

Habiba Gitay's groundbreaking work in soil microbiology has transformed agricultural practices across East Africa. As a child in Ethiopia's Oromia region, she observed how droughts devastated her community's livelihoods. This inspired her to study agronomy at Haramaya University (2005-2009), later earning a PhD from Wageningen University in 2015 focusing on drought-resistant crop systems.

Her 2016 discovery of a symbiotic relationship between native Ethiopian grasses and nitrogen-fixing bacteria led to the development of the "Green Carpet" soil restoration technique. This method increases crop yields by 30-50% while requiring 40% less water. Implemented across 12 Ethiopian regions, it now supports over 500,000 smallholder farmers.

In 2018, Gitay co-founded Africa Green Alliance, which has trained 15,000 farmers in her techniques. Her partnership with the African Union's CAADP program expanded the initiative to Kenya and Tanzania. A 2021 study in Nature highlighted her work's potential to sequester 1.2 gigatons of CO2 annually through soil carbon capture.

Gitay's development of the "AgriPod" mobile app provides real-time soil health analysis to farmers, currently used by 80,000+ users. Her TED Talk "The Secret Life of Soil" (2022) explains how traditional farming knowledge combined with modern science can combat climate change. She advises the UN's UNCCD on land restoration strategies, and her research underpins Ethiopia's National Climate Resilient Agricultural Strategy.

In 2023, she launched the "Women in Soil Science Initiative" to address gender disparities in agricultural research, mentoring over 300 young female scientists across 15 African countries. Her recent work focuses on developing drought-tolerant teff varieties, Ethiopia's staple crop, which could benefit 25 million farmers.